Troy Taylor, the embattled Stanford coach’s documented behavior, came to light. Yet, fans still support him.
Troy Taylor Report Unearth Fan Toxicity in Sports
In a damning revelation, ESPN writer Xuan Thai reports that head football coach Troy Taylor stands accused of bullying female staff members. Despite a perfectly laid out article by Thai, fan reaction, despite clearly presented facts, fans took to social media to defend a man, a team, and a program under the assumption of his innocence.
In previous years, many attempted to justify abhorrent behavior as saying that “fan is short for fanatic.” Yet, that fails the smell test when you consider groups of a fan base will attack someone whose job is to work in a department.
Basically, swearing allegiance to coaches that would not sneeze on you to extinguish a fire. Regardless of Taylor’s 6-12 record, lining up to support him just looks and feels rather peculiar.
REPORT: Stanford coach Troy Taylor accused of bullying, belittling female staffers…
(via @Xuan_Thai) https://t.co/Pdv7lnK9QX pic.twitter.com/zrDlv63BjR
— On3 (@On3sports) March 19, 2025
Thai’s article describes Taylor’s antics at Stanford. First, he tried to get a compliance officer fired because she informed him about potentially thorny violations that could land the program in trouble.
Instead of taking the advice from someone whose job specifically remains keeping the program in order, he tried to force the administration to fire her. In concert with that, Taylor decided to make derogatory and inappropriate comments towards another female member of the athletic’s administrative office.
Yet Taylor keeps his job as the Cardinal head football coach.
A little more than a year ago, on Feb. 24, 2024, Taylor signed his warning letter. However, the university’s statement release happened earlier this week, which seemed like the lightest slap on the wrist possible. This statement, courtesy of the East Bay Times, raises a red flag.
“I willingly complied with the investigations, accepted the recommendations that came out of them, and used them as a learning opportunity to grow in leadership and how I interact with others. I look forward to continuing to work collaboratively and collegially with my colleagues so that we can achieve success for our football program together,” Taylor said.
Taylor turns 57 on April 5. How does he not know how to conduct himself around women? Since 1982, as a high school quarterback in Rancho Cordova, Taylor occupied locker rooms in some capacities. Working in football for 31 years, and he still needs to discuss how he interacts with others?
The flippant responses from fans should not be explained away. Many of these people do not comprehend what life is actually like in athletic departments. Telling someone to “just deal with it” is the weirdest, most delusional advice you will see on social media.
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Rooting for a sport, team or athlete does not absolve coaching malfeasance, but many believe the contrary.
Noticeably silent during this entire incident is Andrew Luck. The school legend turned football GM served on the committee that initially hired Taylor away from Sacramento State. As a result, this controversy sits on Luck’s shoulder. He helped to sign off on the hire and needs to be the voice and face of the football administration.
To this point, Luck maintains a low profile. Is he waiting for the fervor to subside? The lone explanation of his quiet approach is seeing Stanford suffer another terrible season. Then, he can couch Taylor’s inevitable dismissal as performance-related and not for the mistreatment of staff.
In contrast, those who are the most vociferous in their support of Taylor will forget Stanford’s football existence soon enough.
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